Affirmation as Parent Ministry

When The Five Love Languages was all the rage, I bought a copy, thinking it would be a great book for my husband and I to read together.

True confession: We never did.

A decade later I can tell you – even without ever having read the book – that words of affirmation are my love language.

I am a words person. I love to read and write so the fastest way to my heart is through words – especially written words.

Since words of affirmation are my love language, I naturally assume they’re also everyone else’s love language. As a result, I frequently take time to send my students’ encouragement notes – handwritten notes I mail to their houses that in some way affirm who they are.

This comes naturally to me; It’s something I view as an important part of my job. What comes far less naturally is encouraging and affirming the parents of my students.

The irony is that the longer I’ve been in youth ministry, the more I’ve realized that in truth, parents need affirmation far more than their teens.

Read the rest of this article here.

Jen Bradbury on Youth Ministry

Jen serves as the Minister of Youth and Family at Atonement Lutheran Church in Barrington, Illinois. A veteran youth worker, Jen holds an MA in Youth Ministry Leadership from Huntington University. Jen is the author of The Jesus Gap: What Teens Actually Believe about Jesus (The Youth Cartel), The Real Jesus (The Youth Cartel), Unleashing the Hidden Potential of Your Student Leaders (Abingdon), and A Mission That Matters (Abingdon). Her writing has also appeared in YouthWorker Journal, Immerse, and The Christian Century. Jen is also the Assistant Director of Arbor Research Group where she has led many national studies. When not doing ministry or research, she and her husband, Doug, and daughter, Hope, can be found traveling and enjoying life together.

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Jen's Books

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A Mission That Matters: How To Do Short-Term Missions Without Long-Term Harm

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Now Available!

Unleashing the Hidden Potential of your Student Leaders

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The Real Jesus

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The Jesus Gap

What Teens Actually Believe About Jesus

Based on National Research

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